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Monday, January 04, 2010

Ask a Korean! Wiki: Korean Restaurants in Minnesota?

Dear Korean,

Though I've eaten at a real Korean restaurant only once (LA's Woo Lae Oak), I recall the food being delicious and I've had kimchi many times since then, yet only recently understood kimchi's nutritional benefits. I've recently become comfortable with the notion of moving from an hour north of NYC to St. Cloud, MN for an awesome work opportunity, and notice there appears to be a vibrant Korean culture in the twin cities area... any idea on where can I get the bomb kimchi stew?Lance

Have at it, readers at Minnesota. Any place you like?

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@hotmail.com.

8 comments:

I recommend Dong Yang in Columbia Heights (a neighborhood of Minneapolis). They are actually a Korean grocery store, but in the back of the store there is a deli where you can buy most items under $10. I am a big fan of the grilled fish. They also make and sell their own kimchi in the grocery store.

I also enjoyed Mirror of Korea on Snelling Avenue in Saint Paul. It's an actual sit-down restaurant and next door to Kim's Oriental Market. I have never been to Kim's and the place always looked closed to me - but it's worth a try if you happen to be in the area!

Everyone I know raves about Hoban in Eagan, too. I wasn't the biggest fan but then I only ever went there once.

We've got a little Korean going on here in the Twin Cities! One reason for the largish Korean American community here is that there are many Korean adoptees living here. A great local resource is Korean Quarterly newspaper(http://www.koreanquarterly.org/Home.html), it lists restaurants and Kor-Am events and news from around the midwest. Previous commentators mentioned Kim's Market and Mirror of Korea (my personal favorite - ample banchan here!), both located on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul (aka "Little Korea"). There are a few other restaurants and businesses within blocks of each other. By the way Kim's Market is great! It's small but the staff are friendly and helpful. It only looks closed because the windows are full of ads for international calling cards, just like you'd see in any kah geh in Seoul.

If you're coming from NJ/NY area, it's going to be tough to find korean food here to be "good" but I'd also say that it's good enough to extinguish your craving for korean food. (Been here for 1.5 months from NJ and I like it here in MN despite the cold weather.)

Dong Yang is awesome! I think they have the best Korean food in the Twin Cities.

Besides the other places mentioned, there's also a small place on Oak Street near the University of Minnesota... I think it's just called "Korea Restaurant"? It's pretty good if you stick to bulgogi & bibimbap.

There's also King's in Fridley. I've never been, but my friends love their food.

If you want to cook your own Korean food, Kim's on Snelling is a good market, as are Dong Yang and Seoul Foods in Fridley.

I used to live across the street from Mirror of Korea! It's a good place, but it's pretty expensive. Kim's Market also has a lot of great stuff. Mirror of Korea is on Snelling and Englewood, across from SA.

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The Korean is a Korean American living in Washington D.C. / Northern Virginia. He lived in Seoul until he was 16, then moved to Los Angeles area. The Korean refers to himself in the third person because he thinks it sounds cool.